Joaquin Rodriguez withstood Alberto Contador’s repeated attacks to successfully defend his overall lead in the Vuelta a Espana’s 15th stage, won by Antonio Piedra of Caja Rural on Sunday.
Rodriguez stayed close to Contador’s back wheel with every surge by his fellow Spaniard on the last special category climb to the finish line at the Lagos de Covadonga summit.
“Thank God there weren’t any more kilometers to go because, if so, I wouldn’t have made it,” said Rodriguez, who rides for Katusha. “Fortunately, I had that little burst for the final 500 meters.”
Despite protecting his lead by finishing in the same group as SaxoBank’s Contador, Rodriguez said the former Vuelta winner was in fine form.
“[Contador] is all over me. He is in charge,” Rodriguez said. “His attacks are top rate. I was amazed at his speed on the climb.”
Piedra separated from a small breakaway group with just over 10km to go and finished the 186.5km stage in the Picos de Europa mountains in 5 hours, 1 minute, 23 seconds.
Ruben Perez of Euskadi-Euskaltel, Lloyd Mondory of Ag2r La Mondiale and Piedra’s teammate, David de la Fuente, were next, just over two minutes behind the pacesetter.
Rodriguez, Contador and Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde finished together 9:25 behind.
Rodriguez maintained his 22-second lead over Contador, and Valverde moved third in the overall classification at 1:41 back.
“I am not worried about Rodriguez,” said Contador, who is competing in his first grand tour since completing a doping ban. “He is stronger than ever, but I am not going to win anything by not trying.”
The biggest loser of the day was Christopher Froome of Team Sky.
The British rider could not stay with the other contenders and saw the gap between him and the red jersey grow to 2:16.
Yesterday, riders were to face a third straight mountain stage that is arguably the most demanding of the 21-stage race. The 183.5km stage starting from the city of Gijon takes riders through four category climbs and finishes at the Cuitunigru summit.
The race ends on Sunday in Madrid.
Twelve days after winning her second Grand Slam title at the French Open, Coco Gauff fell at the first hurdle on grass in Berlin on Thursday as beaten Paris finalist Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the quarter-finals. Recipient of a first round bye, American Gauff lost 6-3, 6-3 to Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu as world number one Sabalenka beat Rebeka Masarova 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in her second round tie. Winner of 10 main tour titles, including the US Open in 2023 and the WTA Finals last year, Gauff has yet to lift a trophy in a grass-court tournament. “After I won the first
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Sergio Ramos on Tuesday outfoxed two Inter players and artfully headed home the first goal for Monterrey at the FIFA Club World Cup. The 39-year-old Ramos slipped through the penalty area for the score just as he did for so many years in the shirts of Real Madrid and Spain’s national team, with whom he combined smarts, timing and physicality. Ramos’ clever goal and his overall defensive play at the Rose Bowl were major factors in Monterrey’s impressive 1-1 draw against the UEFA Champions League finalists in the clubs’ first match of the tournament. “There is always a joy to contribute to the
Aaron Civale got a little wild in the right-hander’s first start for the Chicago White Sox two days after he was traded by the Milwaukee Brewers. Civale on Sunday walked four of the first seven hitters he faced in a 2-1 loss to the Texas Rangers. The 30-year-old finished with four walks, one off his career high, while allowing six hits and two runs in five innings. He threw 65 strikes and 39 balls. Chicago trailed 2-1 when he was replaced by Dan Altavilla to start the sixth. “Not the cleanest,” Civale said. “It’s been a whirlwind of a week. First couple
RSS